KARREN

ANDREW

"Chip took me rock climbing over in Lyons.  It was my first time using ropes and he did an awesome job making me feel safe, yet helping me push myself to my limits.  We started on a rather large boulder and he taught me, by example, the basics of climbing and belaying so that we could proceed to a granite cliff.  He encouraged me the whole climb, but let me figure out finger and footholds for myself. A couple of times when I was stuck and didn’t think I had the strength to pull myself up, his encouragement was the only thing that made me reach deep down inside myself and find the courage to conquer that wall.  He offered me the compromise to climb only halfway, but I had to prove to myself I could do it, and finally made it to the top…what an exhilarating feeling! And rappelling back down the cliff was a blast! Oh, did I mention that during that first climb, I was 62 years old? If I can do it, you can too!”

“Coming from a military background we have a saying to “Plan your dive and dive your plan.” The mantra solidifies the importance of establishing a plan and sticking by it. It was awesome and reassuring to watch Chip establish a thorough plan for us to successfully summit Longs Peak. He determined specific timelines for locations along the route, contingency plans for issues we might see along the way, a required gear list for the hike and then methodically walked me through the entire plan. It truly showed his thoroughness and experience as a guide, as well as provided me with a lot of confidence. During the hike, Chip was extremely personable and a constant professional. We successfully summitted, hitting the timelines throughout. I really appreciated Chip’s overall awareness throughout the hike. At one point during the final push to the summit, I was sucking wind and looked up to see Chip scoping out our route and looking for potential hazards. His knowledge as a guide and constant alertness showed throughout. I would love to climb with Chip again and look forward to our next 14er!!”